ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Pakistan has strongly condemned and rejected the unilateral move by the Indian government to abolish the Special Status to the Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), an internationally recognized disputed territory, the Dispatch News Desk (DND) news agency reported.
Earlier in the day, the Indian government led by the Hindu-hardline Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) revoked Article 370 of the Constitution through a Presidential Order, ending the Special Status given to State of the Indian Occupied Kashmir.
Under the Presidential Order, the Special Status of Jammu and Kashmir has been abolished and it has been made a Union Territory under the Indian Federation.
In a statement issued in Islamabad, the Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal said that neither any unilateral step by the Indian government can change the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir as enshrined in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions nor will this ever be acceptable to the people of J&K and Pakistan.
Dr Faisal said that as the party to this international dispute, Pakistan will exercise all possible options to counter the illegal steps.
“Pakistan reaffirms its abiding commitment to the Kashmir cause and its political, diplomatic and moral support to the people of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir for realization of their inalienable right to self-determination,” the Spokesperson said.
It is worth noting that Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution guarantee Special Status and Special Rights to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir and all powers, except defence, foreign affairs, and communication, rest with the State Legislature.
In a statement, the Indian Home Minister Amit Shah said that “Jammu and Kashmir will be a union territory with legislature while Ladakh will be a union territory without legislature”.
HM Amit Shah: Jammu and Kashmir to be a union territory with legislature and Ladakh to be union territory without legislature pic.twitter.com/nsEL5Lr15h
— ANI (@ANI) August 5, 2019
